Menu of the Week

Go figure the week that Jim thinks I hit it out of the ballpark I miss the pic of my chalkboard menu wall. At least I snapped a few pics of the dishes before we devoured them.

Thai-Style Tilapia with Coconut-Curry Broth

This recipe is so "blog worthy" I can't stand it. Super easy to pull together, so full of bold and fresh flavor, this Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth is going to be a re-occurring dish on our menu board.

 

Weekly Menu + Lasagna Roll Ups

Here is another menu for the week at our home. Chicken Tacos is always a winner. I make it in the crock pot with frozen chicken breasts along with a jar of salsa and a package of taco seasoning. I mean, this could not be easier.

 

The Asian Grilled Salmon with Quinoa recipe came from Ina Garten and it was just okay. It was a "popular" recipe on Food Network but it lacked that WOW factor that the Barefoot Contessa usually has in all her recipes. You basically mix up Dijon mustard, olive oil, soy and minced garlic. This goes on the salmon before you bake it and you add more before serving. It was okay, but not amazing.

 

The Thai Tilapia with Coconut Curry Broth was AMAZING. Click the link to see my step by step photos of this wonderful meal that I can't wait to make again.

 

Lasagna Roll Ups was a conglomeration of several recipes I read online. Giada's rendition is what inspired me first but I knew that I could improve to better fit my family's taste.  I had the idea to make these lasagna rolls instead of one large pan of lasagna so I could freeze them in smaller portions. This is the recipe I want to share with you today.

 

My idea worked brilliantly and I really like the way these turned out. I cut some corners, making this easy enough for a week night meal - and better yet, I have three pans of this in the freezer!

Chicken Florentine Crepes

I haven't been this excited to post a recipe since the Lemon Gnocchi last month. Lately I have felt stale in my kitchen. It may be the roller coaster that life has put my family on that has deflated my excitement for cooking. It's six months after my parents were hit by a drunk driver and they are still dealing with serious hospital visits and scary surgeries. The good news is I think we are finally on the mending end of all this - both physically and emotionally. My parents are at home and doctors say they will BOTH be back to (a new) normal in 4-6 months. Because, let's face it...you don't just shake off something like this. Don't drink and drive folks, it ruins lives! 

Let me get back to the exciting part! My enthusiasm and interest in cooking has returned and I'm head strong about stretching my culinary point of view. Jim has remained my muse and the reason I am persistently experimenting in the kitchen. I find inspiration from all over but mainly the web and my cooking magazines. My newest Food Network magazine gave me the idea for Savory Crepes and after searching and searching online for the perfect recipe, I decided to write my own. Most Chicken Crepe recipes I found also contained mushrooms and the filling wasn't as creamy as I had imagined. When writing my own recipe, I referenced Emeril Lagasses 2003 recipe for Savory Crepes with Creamy Chicken, Ham and Mushroom Filling.  Jim and I both agreed my dish was a remarkable success and one that I will certainly add to the "entertaining" file for when we have guests over.

Here are the ingredients to HWM Chicken Florentine Crepes:

6 Crepes (I used store bought, but will one day tackle the homemade crepe)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cups chicken stock, hot
salt and pepper
3/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, shredded
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
1 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup baby spinach
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/2 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon leaves
1/2 tablespoon chopped green onions
1/2 cup grated Gruyere
3/4 cup grated Parmesan

Lemon Gnocchi with Shrimp, Spinach and Peas

Gnocchi is one of my favorite Italian dishes. Like bruschetta, it's an Italian food word that people have some trouble with. Never fear, the Italian pronunciation police are here.

The "gno" makes a "nyo" sound with a silent "g".

The "cch" is pronounced as a hard "k".

The "i" is an "ee" sound as in "tree".

"nyo kee"

Gnocchi is the plural form of the word. The singular is "gnocco." So you might order a plate of gnocchi and savor each delicious gnocco on that plate.

Check your local grocery store and you just might find a package of fresh vacuum packed gnocchi near the pasta. These thick and soft dumplings can be made from a variety of ingredients. You will most commonly find Potato Gnocchi, but they are also made from semolina, ordinary wheat flour, bread crumbs, or similar ingredients. The smaller forms are called gnocchetti.

For this recipe, I used a pre-made vacuum pack of gnocchi but I very much want to try making gnocchi from scratch in the near future. Gourmet magazine featured this recipe for Lemon Gnocchi with Spinach and Peas in 2007. The recipe went on to win a blue ribbon award on epicurious where it has consistently received top marks with reviewers. I can tell you exactly why... The ingredient list is fairly short, the active cooking time is about 20 minutes and the flavor medley is freaking fantastic. You have the soft pillows of gnocchi covered in a flavorful cream sauce topped with the zing of fresh lemon and pop of bright peas. It’s truly a winner!

I altered the recipe slightly with the addition of raw shrimp that I purchased deveined and shelled. With a tablespoon of butter melted in my dutch oven, I threw in the shrimp and sauteed until no longer pink.

 Next, I added a chopped shallot and a three chopped garlic cloves.

I added one cup of heavy cream and a 1/2 cup frozen peas.

Poker Party and Spinach-Green Chile Dip Recipe

Here is another simple appetizer recipe that makes about 10 – 12 servings.

Here is what you need:
1 small can chopped green chilies
1 1/2 cups cooked spinach, dry and chopped
1 small onion, chopped finely
4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
2 tablespoon milk

COMBINE all ingredients and refrigerate for several hours prior to serving. Done. No kidding. Love it!!

I made this dip for Jim's birthday poker party. For the main course I made pulled pork tacos with all the fixings, along with homemade guacamole, red salsa, verde salsa, meatballs, and other munchies. Click here for my salsa recipes!

I decorated the buffet by filling a pretty glass vase with poker chips and spread playing cards face up on the table.

When hosting a "munchy" type party where you want people to help themselves, I recommend setting out everything a guest needs - plates, forks, napkins all within easy access so guests know the buffet is open and ready.

Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Salad

I want to eat this salad again. This Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Salad was really good and the peanut sauce was so easy to make, I can think of a many uses for the peanut sauce alone. I don't really know what it was that sparked my appetite one day. All I could think about was a spicy asian dish - I didn't know what it would look like, but I knew what it would taste like - so I went on an Internet search for the flavors I had imagined. Luckily I found this recipe on Epicurious.com and decided I needed to give it a try.

I had most of the ingredients in the pantry: soy sauce, chicken broth, garlic-chile sauce, peanut butter, rice vinegar, cilantro, ginger, chicken and brown sugar. I had to make a stop at the store for the green onion, red bell pepper and noodles.

To make this UNIVERSAL dressing, start with 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter. The recipe specifically says do not use old-fashioned style or freshly ground - but I'm not sure exactly why. It just says so... I scooped this into my cuisinart blender.

Next you need to measure and add 1/4 cup soy sauce to the cuisinart.

Then measure and add 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar. "Unseasoned?" I haven't come across "seasoned" so I assumed this 100% natural rice vinegar was fine to use.

This is where you get to dictate how spicy the sauce will be. I used 2 tablespoons of chili-garlic sauce - found on the asain food aisle of your grocery store. Lately however I haven't had any luck finding this brand. My next project will be to track down an Asian Market and a Meat Market here in Austin.

1 tablespoon of packed brown sugar.

1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger.

This is about a 1/2 cup of cilantro leaves. The original recipe says to add this to the salad later, but I would rather it be chopped up in my sauce.

I like this before and after photo. Here are the sauce ingredients...

Start blending the ingredients together and add chicken broth a tablespoon at a time until you reach the consistency you like. I added about three tablespoons.

Voila, here is the SPICY PEANUT SAUCE!

While the sauce is chillin' in the fridge I prep the fresh salad ingredients. Chop up a handful of baby carrots or you could also grate two large carrots.

Chop 3-6 green onions.

Slice up a red bell pepper.

To add some healthy protein to this meal, I marinated a chicken breast in soy sauce, sesame oil, a tablespoon of brown sugar and sliced jalapenos. Then threw it in my sauté pan until cooked through. The soy and brown sugar gave this a nice caramelized glaze and the jalapenos a very subtle kick.

Be sure to let the cooked meat rest for 5 minutes before you cut into it. This lets all the juices "redistribute."

I was only making salad for one, so I put the extra veggies in a baggie for later.

This was not part of the recipe either, but I really like to eat spinach so I started with a handful of fresh baby spinach in my large mixing bowl.

Throw in the carrots.

Add the red bell pepper.

Add the chopped green onion.

Now for the noodles. The recipe calls for linguine or dried chow mein udon noodles. I did not want linguine and my grocery store did not offer the udon noodles, so I purchased these rice sticks. I was impressed with these thin glassy noodles! They are dried fragile noodles and I had to use kitchen shears to portion out just 1/4 of the package.

I boiled some water, dunked the noodles and three minutes later I rinsed in cold water. Done!

I started with the cool and cooked noodles, added about three tablespoons of the peanut sauce and whirled the pasta around until it was all covered.

Next, top with the fresh veggies!

Then I sliced the chicken and placed on top.

Chow mein noodles gave the salad a perfect crunch!

May I present to you my Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Salad. I ended up making and eating this salad for three meals in two days. I even made another batch of the peanut sauce two days later. I think it is extremely versatile since it would pair perfectly with chicken or beef, on a salad as dressing or as a side dipping sauce. I want to eat this salad now!

Leftover Breakfast Casserole

What do you do the day after a party when you are left with crunchy french bread? Well, I made a breakfast casserole that Jim really loved. I bought two loaves of french bread for a get together and only half of what I purchased was consumed. The rest sat out overnight and was dried out and nearly useless until I decided to make the best of it and created this wonderful leftover breakfast casserole. Here is how I did it.

I used this hot pork sausage and browned it in a skillet, breaking it up as it cooked.

Seasoned with onion powder.

And a teaspoon full of minced garlic.

Next, I used an 8x8 glass baking dish and made a bottom layer of leftover bread.

Then topped with a layer of my hot pork sausage.

To add more flavor, I sprinkled some italian seasoning on top of the pork.

I defrosted a small box of frozen spinach and then then squeezed out most of the moisture. Then I sprinkled some on top of the pork for a LITTLE healthy punch.

If I had thought of it, this picture above would show a thin layer of cheese...but I didn't think of it, so there isn't any cheese here.

Instead I repeated with more crunchy pieces of leftover bread.

Then topped with the other half of the hot pork sausage.

In a mixing bowl I cracked four eggs.

Whisked them together really good.

And added a cup of milk. This is actually half and half - It was on it's last leg and I wanted to use it up.

That explains why it looks so thick and clings to the measuring cup. Mmmm, but it taste so good.

My secret ingredient! Ground mustard seed. Just add about a teaspoon or less of this stuff.

Whisk all the liquid well together.

Now cover that baby with some shredded cheddar cheese!

Pour all of the egg mixture right on top of the casserole, covering the surface.

The liquid almost fills up the entire casserole, that is good because the bread is going to soak up the egg and milk mixture overnight. When we cook this bad boy in the morning, it's going to be perfectly moist and dense.

It's ready to go, but I'm going to cover it for now and place in the fridge until morning.

Wipe the sleep from your eyes and bake the casserole at 350 for 50 minutes.

Once you have a cup of hot coffee and are awake, carefully remove the foil from the baking dish for the last 10 minutes of it's cooking time. This breakfast turned out great and I was able to salvage some food that was destined to be thrown away by combining it all together and covering it in cheese. Martha would call this a good thing. Jim did too!